whitfield



Feb. 9, 1943.

s. WHITFIELD 2,310,561

ANODE oi'iginal Filed Feb. 17, 1937 Patented F eb; 9, 1943 OFFlCE -ANODE Knoxville, Tenn, assignm- Marshall- G. Whitfield,

Company, New York, N. Y.,

to Reynolds Metals acorporation of Delaware Original application February 17, 1937, Serial No.

126,286. Divided and this application October 26, 1938, Serial No. 237,152 v 1 Claim. (01. 204-280) This invention relatesto anodes for use in the electrodeposition of iron, and more particularly to anodes afiording a source for the iron to be electrodeposited whereby they are adapted to be consumed during the course of the electrodeposition.

This application is a division of Whitfield and Sheshunoff Patent No. 2,223,928, granted Decemher 3, 1940.

It is an object of this invention to provide an anode of the type characterized which eliminates the need for an expensive electroplating tank.

Another object of this invention is to provide an anode of the type characterized which facilitates the location of the anode metal closely sidjacent to the cathode so that only a very low voltage drop exists therebetween.

Another object of this invention is to provide an anode of the type characterized which provides a better electrical connection with the anode bus bar than heretofore obtained, whereby a low voltage drop exists at said connection, and which connection remains. equally satisfactory throughout the life of the anode. Y

Another object of this invention is to provide an anode of the type characterized. which is simple and inexpensive to produce and the iron of which may be readily reemployed when, as a result of the electrodepositipn, the thickness of the anode wall has been reduced to the minimum which it is desired to use.

Another object of this invention is to provide an anode of the type characterized which'may be kept in use for a relatively long period of time.

Another object of this invention is to provide an anode of the type characterized which facilitates the cleaning of the walls thereof to the end that the rate of consumption of the iron shall remain substantially constant.

Other objects will appear as the description of the invention proceeds.

'The invention is capable of receiving a variety of expressions, one of which is diagrammatically illustrated on the accompanying drawing, but it is to be expressly understood that the drawing is for purposes of illustration only and is not to be construed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for that purpose.

Referring in detail to the drawing,

, In conformity with the present invention the anode takes the form of along and deep but relatively narrow cast iron trough-like tank ill, the length and depth being such as generally to conform with the length and width of the sheet or other article that it is desired to deposit, while the width thereof isso selected as to bring the side walls of the tank closely adjacent the cathode, preferably to within a distance on the order'of twoinches of the cathode, whereby a low voltage drop may be maintained therebetween. The cathode H, which may be of any suitable size, construction and material, is attached in any suitable way to a bus bar I2 by which it is adapted to be suitably suspended within the tank-like anode i0 containing a suitable electrolyte such as disclosed and claimed in Patent No. 2,223,928 referred to. Said bus bar may be merely rested on the upper edges of the tank-like anode ill, with suitable insulation, or if'preferred the end edges thereof may be suitably notched so as to center said bus bar it.

Said cast iron anode it 'is preferably provided with relatively thick walls, at least two inches thick but preferably thicker. Such a cast iron anode may be, used until its walls become relatively thin, say one-half inch, whereupon it maybe replaced by a new one and what is left of the old shell may be remelted and used in casting other anodes of the same character. The anode walls are preferably reduced in thickness, or tapered toward the top as shown at it? in Fig. 2, where they extend above the surface of the electrolyte, so that there will be substanstantially no overhanging edge formed as the iron of the anode is consumed below the level of the electrolyte. It has been found that the rate of consumption of the iron from .the wall of an anode made in conformity with the present in- Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section and A Fig. 2 is a cross section of an embodiment of the present invention illustrated moreor less diagrammatically.

-venticn is quite uniform and that pits, slag spots, .etc., tend to become smoothed out rather than to be eaten deeper.

The cast iron anode as here disclosed is preferably supported upon a second bus bar it, made flat so as to permit it to support the same, and thus a good electrical contact is established and maintained between the anode I 0 and the bus bar It because the weight of the former with its contents establishes a close contact that assures av low voltage drop thereat and this contact is maintained throughout the life of the anode because the total weight of a used anode with its contained electrolyte is still relatively large.

As the electrodeposition proceeds it is necessary to scrape down the sides of the anode tank periodically to remove the scale of graphite, silica, etc., which is left as the iron is consumed, as this scale otherwise would gradually accumulate until'it retarded or stopped the solution of iron from the anode. This removal of scale can be readily eii'ected by any suitable tool, such as an ice chipper, and if the sides or the anode are scraped down regularly substantial uniformity in the rate of iron consumption can behere disclosed an expensive plating tank becomes unnecessary, and therefore the initial cost of installation, as well as the cost of maintenance, is'materially reduced. A tank of the desired size may be readily cast and replaced as needed, as it may be used until its walls have been consumed to such thickness that it is deemed undesirable to further use the same and then the shell of the used tank may be remelted and used in forming a new tank without loss of the iron. An anode so constructed enables it to be supported directly on its bus bar, assuring that a good electrical connection with low voltage drop will be established and maintained throughout the life of the anode because of the weight of the tank and its contents, and it also facilitates locating the walls of the anode closely adjacent to the cathode so that a relatively small voltage drop across the intervening electrolyte may be maintained.

I have found that with the use of a cast iron tank-like anode as herein described the rate of consumption of the iron from the walls thereof 4 remains substantially constant provided they are wall of the tank, tend to smooth out under continued operation, so that the wallsiof the tank are reduced in thickness at a substantially uniform rate and therefore the tank may be used until the entire wall has been reduced to a thickness on the order of half an inch. Thus a. cast iron tank-like anode as herein described affords a relatively simple and inexpensive plating tank that avoids the expense or a separate plating tank, the labor costs incident to lining and relining the same, etc., whereby the plating operation may be carried out with equipment that is both simple and inexpensive, while at the same time a better contact with its bus bar is established and maintained. 1

While the embodiment of the invention illustrated on the drawing has been described with considerable particularity, it isto be expressly understood that the invention is not to be restricted thereto, as the same is capable of re-- ceiving other expressions dependent upon the size and character of the electrodeposited element to be formed, etc., as, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Reference is therefore to be'had to the claims heretoap pended for a definition of the 'limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

Asan article of manufacture, a combined. elec- V trolyte container and electroplating anode for use in the eleetrodeposition of iron and for consumption during the plating operation, including a relatively long narrow cast iron tank having relatively thick walls and a depth suitable for the suspension of a sheet-like cathode in the electrolyte contained in said tank and a width 

